More Archery

Last week, we journeyed to Farmington NM for the State Indoor archery shoot. This is the first time I've done this since 1990 and I worked pretty hard this spring to get back into shooting shape and improve. I tried different rests, stabilizers, and releases and last week got a whole new bow to try (Hoyt Contender). It was a little bit of a risk shooting such a new bow, but I took an immediate liking to the Contender and ended up shooting it this past weekend, along with a new stabilizer (a 10" B-Stinger) that came in on Tues.

It was an 8 hr drive to Farmington. Going there, we took the "mountain" way thru Eagle Nest, Taos, Chama, Tierra Amarilla, Dulce.  We've never gone that way and so it was part of the adventure, too. The drive was real scenic and seeing all the snow in the high country was great.  On the return trip, we boogied back down Hwy 550 (70 mph), and then up I-25. That was faster and much straighter, but only about 1/2 h shorter when all was said and done and much less scenic.  I can see where the mountain road could be rough if you got caught behind a motor-home or other slow vehicle, though, and it was definitely harder on the back-seat passengers.

We arrived at the shoot around 6 pm, did some practice, and got ready for Saturday.  The distance was 20 yards and scoring is 60 shots, 5 points max, X counted for tie-breakers;  perfect score is 300/60x. You can shoot 5 individual spots or a single center bull. The problem with 5-spot is that only 4 and 5 count. Shoot what would be a 3 on the single bull and you get a zero. Problem with the single bull is that if you shoot good groups, you can hit an arrow and knock it out plus you'll almost certainly damage some arrows. I shot 5 spot and on the 1st day, sadly, tossed one into the 3 zone for a big fat "zero". First day, I scored 290/33x. Next day, I tossed one into the 3 zone during practice, got that out of my system, and shot a 296/37x.  I had one exciting moment the 2nd day where I shot my arrows, stepped off the line, and then decided to check my target with my binoculars.  I don't always do this because my feeling is that the shot's gone, so what's the use?  But I checked and, try as I might, I couldn't find an arrow in the center spot.  Looking into my quiver I found an "extra" arrow and that's when I realized that I'd only shot 4 arrows and not 5.  So, I hustled up to the line again, calmed down, and shot an X.  Whew!!!!

The best I've ever done previous to this was 288 and my goal for the shoot was 295. I beat that once, so I'm happy enough. I don't know yet where I ended placing. Hoping for top 5, but there were some good shooters and that dropped arrow hurt me. But, it was fun, I learned some things, and I was pleased enough with my performance. Here's my actual target from Sunday...

296 w 33 x

All but one of my 4's is in the inner 4 ring which tells me that with a little more tightening down, I can get them in the 5. (One of those 4's is from the 2 practice ends....). I did throw one high and made it in by 2/3 of an arrow. That's gotta stop.

From practice- this is what 5 arrows in the X looks like

Oh yeah... I'm shooting "Bowhunter Freestyle" class which is a short stabilizer, pins (not a scope), and a release. The hardest part is placing the pin accurately on the target which is a whole lot smaller at 20 yards than it is "in your face" as in the above picture. The light is always bad indoors and if you use a light (which I did), then the pins get a little fuzzy (.ie "larger") and you have really pay attention to where the pin is on the target face.

Next up in the State Tournament is an "Animal" Round in Sandia on a range I've never shot.  Should be fun.  I'll likely be using the Maxxis 35 there as it's shorter, lighter, and faster- all useful traits outdoors.  Gotta practice!

Hoyt Vectrix, Maxxis 35, Contender

In other news, we've gotten some nice snow lately.  Two of the storms were also accompanied by high winds (40-50 mph) and when that happens, it blows thru the windows into the house.  For the first time, it also blew under the north wall of my shop and caused a leak in there that forced me to clean off my work-bench and run 3 fans non-stop for several days to dry everything up.  But, we got it under control.

Snow in the house